By faith, by faith, by faith … From the story of Abram’s faith in God’s promises in Genesis 12, to Paul’s reflection on Abraham’s faith in Romans 4, to Matthew’s accounts of healing that arise from faith, our passages in today’s lectionary are all about faith. This kind of faith believes in the impossible, like an elderly man becoming a father to many or a young girl being raised from the dead. Faith in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles? In these difficult days, that’ll preach. Genesis 12:1-9 and Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 show us faith in action, so the preacher may look to contemporary examples of the same to offer encouragement. Or maybe the need is to mine the depths of despair, to find glimmers of faith and hope even in those times and places where they are utterly imperceivable. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome wrestles with faith on a more theological level. He looks at the relationship between grace and the law, an apparent dichotomy often used interchangeably with faith and works. At the heart of that tension is the question of righteousness. What is righteousness, and how do we attain it? .... Thank you to this week's writer, Stephanie Sorge. Read the rest of the commentary at pres-outlook.org. | 
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